Istanbul/ Anatolia
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed “serious concerns” about human rights in Rwanda, as well as issues related to regional tensions with the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This came during Blinken’s meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the capital, Kigali.
And the US Secretary of State said, in a press conference with his Rwandan counterpart Vincent Perrota, that he expressed “serious concerns” about human rights during his meeting with Kagame, including the issue of the Rwandan citizen with permanent residence in the United States, Paul Rusabagina, who is detained in his country, according to the network. CNN America.
“We believe that all people around the world have the right to express their opinions without fear of intimidation, imprisonment, violence or any other form of repression,” Blinken added.
On the Rosapagina case, the US Secretary said, “We have confirmed our concerns about not providing him with fair trial guarantees.”
Blinken also discussed during his meeting with the President of Rwanda the issue of “credible reports” regarding Rwanda’s alleged support for the “March 23rd Movement” rebel group, and the allegations of sending Rwandan troops to the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“I had meetings with the President of Rwanda at the Uruguiro presidential palace and its Foreign Minister Perrota about the relationship between the United States and Rwanda and how to reduce the ongoing tensions and violence in the region,” Blinken wrote in a tweet.
“We also discussed US concerns about democracy and human rights in Rwanda, including the unlawful detention of Paul Rusabagina,” he added.
For his part, Rwanda’s foreign minister said that “Rusabagina’s judicial procedures followed Rwandan and international laws.”
“We will ask our partners to respect the sovereignty, laws and institutions of Rwanda,” Beruta added.
Rusabagina gained prominence during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, when he was a manager of a luxury hotel in Kigali and managed to hide and rescue 1,200 people in the hotel during the killings.
American cinema embodied his story in a 2004 movie called “Hotel Rwanda”.
However, according to the Rwandan Bureau of Investigation, Rosabagina faces an international arrest warrant containing a number of charges of crimes against unarmed Rwandan civilians inside the country, including terrorism, arson, kidnapping, and premeditated murder.
The Rwandan authorities accuse Rusabagina of committing these crimes in Nyaruguru provinces in June 2018, and in Nyamagabe in December 2018 of the same year.
Rosabagina was convicted on terrorism-related charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison by a court in Kigali in September 2021, while the US State Department had previously said he was “unjustly detained”, according to a statement in July of the same year.
The March 23 Movement is composed of the Congolese Tutsi, who joined the regular forces under a peace agreement signed in March 2009, but declared their rebellion in April 2012, considering that the agreement was not fully implemented.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is on a two-day visit to Rwanda, the third and final leg of his African tour, which also included South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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